Endless buffing and polishing belt



Feb. 16, 1960 w ER 2,924,916

ENDLESS BUFFING AND POLISHING BELT Filed June 21, 1 957 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Feb. 16, 1960 H. E. WELKER ENDLESS BUFFING AND POLISHING BELT Filed June 21, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. z 5% /k7 Feb. 16, 1960 H. E. WELKER 2,924,916

ENDLESS BUFFING AND POLISHING BELT Filed June 21, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 16, 1960 H. E. WELKER ENDLESS BUFFING AND POLISHING BELT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 21, 1957 HTTOFMG'Y n d States Patent :Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application'June 21, 1957, Serial No. 667,154

7 Claims. (Cl.-51188) This invention relates to-the buffing and-polishing art and particularly tobu'fiing'and polishing belts of the endless type.

In quantity production buffing and polishing operations "of thekind in which work pieces-are conveyed past bufiing' machines, it has been found that a single endless type butfingbelt can produce a finish on the work pieces equivalent to that of several bufiing wheels. This is due to the fact that to achieve thedesired finish, ;the work piece must -be maintained in contact with the buffing -wheelfor a predeterminedflinterval as it proceeds. down a-conveyor at some fixed speed.

If one wheel cannot complete the finish in the allotted time, then several, may

1 have to be spaced along the-conveyor. With a belt, the belt length can be varied to afford-the required contact time. "Furthermore, a-belt usually only requires-one machlne while,-generally, a'separatemachine is necessary "fordriving-eachbuffing-wheel. Consequently, by utilizing -a belt fewer machinesare needed withresultant savings not'only. 111 machines but also in floor space,maintenance .and tooling. In exploiting these advantages; the problem is to develop an endless bufling belt that is superior orat least comparable to a--bufiing-wheelin durability, 'cost and efliciency.

. that is eflicient inoperation, especially in polishing and boiling irregular surfaces. 7

By the invention, there is propo sed a methodof making an endless buffingbelt'by advantageously arranging and attaching a plurality ofmultiple thickness bufiing fingers to a belt member.

" Further,--theinventioncontemplates a method jofjmaking an-endlessbufiing beltby fastening'a row of bound multiple layer -pads to the belt 'proper and positioning and securing the ;-pad--ends in an upstanding position" relative to the belt proper toatford an effectivebuflingandlpolishing surface.

More specifically, the invention provides a method of making an endless belt by forming a plurality of bufiing fingers for installation on the belt from a series of multiple ply pads progressively developed from appropriate bufiing and polishing material.

In carrying out the invention, an endless bufiing belt is made, first, by stacking a series of sheets of suitable buffing and polishing material cut to a predetermined shape. These sheets are folded one or more times parallel to one edge forming relatively thick pads which then are laterally spaced adjacent to each other and bound together in a row. Next, one or more rows of these pads are fastened to an endless belt member with each row extending parallel to the belt. Finally, to afford a plurality of bufiing fingers, the pads are folded so that the ends are in an upstanding position relative to the belt member and secured in place.

2,924,916 PatentedFeb. 1 19st:

ice

2 The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which: i

Figure 1' is'a perspective view of a stack ofsheetscut from a piece of suitablebufiing and polishing material;

Figure 2 is a perspective view demonstrating a mode of creating multiple layer, padsby folding the Flgurel stack Figure 3 is a perspective view of a group 'of folded pads aligned in,.a row;

Figure 4 isa p'erspective view of "the pads boufid together; i U

Figure. 5 .is afragmentary perspective v1e'wof'a section fastened'theretoand the pads folded in place to'furn'ish Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating} staggered arrangement ofthe'fingers on the belt;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side view of thebelt'depicting the'fingers securedfin 'a standing position relative to the belt; and

Figure 8 is a side view of a bufiing machine utilizing a buffing belt constructed according to the invention.

Referring: to Figure l, 10 designates a multiple'lay'er or ply'sheet formed by stacking andaligning ase'riesjof pieces12one. on top of the other. The pieces 12 arejcut to some'predetermined sizeand shape from'alargerjpiece of cloth fabric .or .other suitable boiling and. polishing material. A three ply sheet is depicted; however, the number of layers may be varied as well as the sizefajccor'ding to the requirements of a particular buffingpperation.

As best shown in'Figure'Z, thelsheetjlO isfdouble folded along the dotted lines 14 sothatthe edges'16 thereof are substantially parallel. This step furnishes a relatively thick pad 18, the thickness of whichcanjeasilybe varied byithe number. of folds. Furthermore, by ,this'folding operation the pad can have a relatively "elongated configuration with all of the several layers maintainedin alignment. Otherwise, numerous precut 'narrowstrips would have to be properly stacked to provide'the necessary thickness, constituting a'time consuming operation. In

addition, the many more exposed edgeswouldlincrease the edge fraying problem.

'transverse to "the major axes of the pads, and sewedor otherwise fastened thereto. This operation afiords apnepiece structure which is easily manageable during preparationlforthe n'exLs'tep.

,In the. nextzstep, With reference-to Figures. Sand {6,

:one. ror more. continuous "rows of the bound pads r18itare positioned on the exterior surface of an endless belt member 22 with the binder strip 20 extending parallel to the belt member 22 and then suitably attached thereto as by sewing. Preferably, the rows are arranged so that the pads in each row will be staggered relative to the pads in the adjacent rows (see Figure 6), hence providing a more effective bufiing surface. After the bound pads 18 are secured in position, each pad is folded with the edges 24 substantially parallel and suitably secured, e.g., by double stitching at 26 along a line parallel to the belt member 22 (see Figure 7) to produce plural sets of bufiing and polishing fingers 28 extending from the belt member 22.

The position of the double stitching 26 can be varied to increase the rigidity of the fingers 28; for instance, referring to Figure 5, if the double stitching 26 is moved downwardly towards the edges 24, the fingers 28 will pared with some mechanicalfastening device.

according to the foregoing method, is demonstrated instal led on a bufling machine, designated generally at 32.

As shown, the belt 30 is mounted on a driving pulley 34 and an idler pulley 36, with the latter pulley being adjustable inwardly and outwardly from the axis of the driving pulley 34 to vary the belt tension in a well known manner. A suitably mounted motor 38, through belts 40, drives'the pulley 34 and, consequently, rotates .-the belt 30. Positioned below the belt 30 is a movable table 42 or other type conveying device by which work pieces are carried past the upstanding fingers 28 on the belt. As can be seen, the extent of the belt over the table 42 determines, along withthe speed of the table,the

' interval that the workpiece is in contact with the bufiing fingers 128. Ifthe belt were installed on a single wheel,

this 'contact time would be considerably reduced, and

this period were not suflicientto produce the desired finish, one or more wheels would have to be employed.

During the construction of the belt 30, the various component's have been depicted fastened by stitching although,

as mentioned, other fastening means could be utilized. However, because the structure of the illustrated embodiment is especially suited for sewing operations, it is a desirable cost reducing feature, especially when com- Furthermore, the width of the belt and the number of rows of I fingers 28 can be varied, as well as the length of these fingers. Whether the fingers are staggered or otherwise arranged, of course, may be determined by'the particular :o'peration.

Iclaim: v v 1. The method of making bufling belts comprising with said circumferential edge to an upstanding position relative to the flat face of the belt to furnish a plurality of'bufling fingers.

2. The method of making bufiing belts as defined in 1 with the added step of fastening adjacent fingers of each folded pad together in the upstanding position at a distance from the face of the belt determined by the degree of flexibility desired in the fingers.

3. The method of making buffing belts comprising cutting fabric material into a series of pieces of uniform predetermined size, aligning a plurality of the pieces one on top of the other to provide a multiple layer sheet, folding the sheet parallel to a first edge to afford a multifolding a sheet of fabric material parallel to a first edge 4 ple ply pad, positioning a plurality of the pads next to each other in a line, fastening a binder strip to a middle portion of the pads with the" binder strip extending parallel to the line of the pads to afford a bound row of pads, attaching the bound row of pads to an endless belt in a continuous line extending circumferentlally of the belt and parallel to a circumferential edge thereof, and folding the pads to extend parallel with said circumferential edge to an upstanding position relative to the flat face of the belt to furnish a plurality of buffing fingers.

4. The. method of making buffing belts comprising cutting fabric material into a series of pieces of uniform predetermined size, aligning a plurality of pieces one on top of the other to provide a multiple layer sheet, folding the sheet a plurality of times parallel to a first edge to furnish a multiple ply pad, positioning a plurality of the pads next to each other in a line, fastening a binder strip to a middle portion of the pads with the binder strip extending parallel to the line of the pads to afford a bound row of pads, attaching a plurality of the bound row of pads to an endless belt in a continuous line extending circumferentially of the belt and parallel to a circumferential edge thereof with the pads of each row in staggered relation to the pads in adjacent rows, and folding the pads to extendparallel with said circumferential edge to an upstanding position relative to the flat 'face of the belt to furnish a plurality of buffing fingers.

5. An endless bufiingbelt comprising an endless belt backing member, a series of binder strips and a plurality of sets of bufiing fingers formed from medially folded multiple ply fabric material and bound together with the folded faces confronting each'other by each binder strip to provide a plurality of rows of bound fingers, with each of the rows of bound fingers being attached to the belt backing member in a continuous line extending circumferentially of the belt and parallel to a circumferential edgethereof with the fingers in an upstanding position relative to the flat face of the belt to furnish a plurality of bufling fingers.

6. An endless bufiing belt as defined in claim 5 where in the bound fingers in one row are staggered relative to the bound fingers in adjacent rows.

7. An endless buffing belt as defined in claim 5 wherein the adjacent fingers of each folded pad are joined together in the upstanding position at a distance from the face of the belt determined by the degree of flexibility desired in the fingers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 449,239 Webster Mar. 31, 1891 1,140,424 Webb May 25,. 1915 2,067,089 Kirchnes Jan. 5, 1937 2,146,284 Churchill Feb. 7, 1939 2,522,092 Churchill Sept. 12, 1950 2,522,093 Churchill Sept. 12, 1950 

